As a matter of principle (however it may be flawed), I try to avoid Wallyworld for grocery purchases.
The trick with Kroger is to buy lots when they run their specials, and try to minimize the pain on other items. In my neck of the woods, a family-owned grocery chain tends to pile stuff high and sell it cheap, so fortunately, I’ve got that option.
As for grocery prices, anything with corn or connected to corn has gone through the roof since we started putting ethanol in gasoline. I understand they’ve about maxed out the amount of gasoline they can cut with it, and still keep non - E85 vehicles running.
Generally, every grocery chain will run a special on protein once a month. That’s the time to stock up. Watch the ads for a while, and a pricing strategy for that chain will emerge.
Kroger is a strongly union shop and promoted Barack Obama by allowing him to visit stores to promote himself